2013 Conservationists of the Year – Joey & Josie Register

Joey and Josie Register have been farming as a team since 2007. Currently the Registers farm 375 acres, with the help of their two sons ages 9 and 8. The land is very important to them, so they have implemented a variety of conservation practices to: improve soil health and water quality, reduce erosion, reduce water consumption, and improve wildlife habitat.

The Registers have worked very closely with the Natural Resource Conservations Service (NRCS) staff to take part in the Federal conservation programs provided by the Farm Bill. To conserve water, they started an irrigation water management plan to ensure the proper timing and amount of water was used for each crop. The Registers also replaced an older irrigation system, which improved water use efficiency by 39%. To prevent soil erosion they utilize cover crops, conservation tillage, planted grass in natural waterways, and planted forages, and bio-mass, on the more erodible areas of the farm. The marginal farm ground has been planted with native long leaf pines. To best manage nutrients, all crops are grown based solely based on soil test recommendations. The Registers work very hard to ensure their farm will be productive for years to come.

The Conservationist of the Year is selected each year by the staff of the Jackson District of the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service.

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